Big victory for caretakers of the disabled

In a Decision dated May 30, 2013, the federal court ruled that Granite Bay Care is liable for up to six years of back overtime pay for all the five plaintiffs. This ruling was based on state law.

All that remains to that part of the case is to calculate the damages. Besides the pay that theemployees lost during up to six years of employment, they are entitled to an equal amount as liquidated damages. They are also entitled to their attorneys’ fees.

The Court issued a 50 page Decision, essentially finding that there was no reasonable argument in favor of the the type that the employer had attempted: namely, that these employees were not employees but rather “independent contractors.” The Court stated that to say otherwise would be to permit Granite Bay to contract out the “heart of its business.”

The Court ruled that considering the eight factors that are used to determine if someone is an employee or an independent contractor that none of the eight factors pointed in the direction of Granite Bay’s argument that they were independent contractors.

All that remains is the damages. The plaintiffs are now calculating the wages that are due.

If Granite Bay does not pay immediately, then the rest of the case will be tried in court with respect to the federal claim and whether the owners, Mr. Mumpini and Ms. Aliciea, will be personally liable in addition to the liability of the company they own, Granite Bay Care.

The Court also ruled that defendants Granite Bay Care and the individual owners both failed to prove that they made a good faith mistake based on the advice they received from the United States Department of Labor.

The Fontaine Law office litigated this case in cooperation with attorney Lisa Butler of Bangor.